1979 PBA Invitational Championship
| 1979 PBA Invitational Championship | |
|---|---|
| Duration | November 20 – December 15, 1979 |
| TV partner(s) | MBS |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Toyota Tamaraws |
| Runners-up | Walk Tall Jeans |
| PBA Invitational Championship chronology | |
| PBA conference chronology | |
|
< 1979 Open
1980 Open > | |
The 1979 PBA Invitational Championship was the third conference of the 1979 PBA season. It started on November 20 and ended on December 15, 1979.
Toyota Tamaraws won the Invitational crown for the third straight year, defeating arch rival Crispa Walk Tall Jeans, three games to one. [1]
Format
The following format will be observed for the duration of the tournament:
- Top four teams in the second conference are qualified in the Invitational championship. The five eliminated ballclubs in the second conference earlier played in a single round robin to determined the other two qualifiers.
- The top two teams at the end of the single round eliminations advance to the best-of-five finals. The third and fourth-place finishers play in the best-of-five series for third place.
Elimination round
| Qualified for finals | |
| Qualified for battle for third |
| # | Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk Tall Jeans | 4 | 1 | .800 | -- |
| 2 | Toyota Tamaraws | 4 | 1 | .800 | -- |
| 3 | Gilbey's Gin | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 |
| 4 | U/Tex Wranglers | 2 | 3 | .400 | 2 |
| 5 | Royal Tru-Orange | 1 | 4 | .200 | 3 |
| 6 | Great Taste Discoverers | 1 | 4 | .200 | 3 |
Battle for third
December 8 |
| U/Tex Wranglers 129, Gilbey's Gin 123 | ||
| Pts: James Robinson 41 Lim Eng Beng 32 | Pts: Dean Tolson 34 | |
December 13 |
| U/Tex Wranglers 123, Gilbey's Gin 115 | ||
| Pts: James Robinson 47 | Pts: Larry McNeill 48 | |
| U/Tex wins series, 3-0 | ||
Finals
Walk Tall Jeans faced an intact Toyota lineup by virtue of a management decision to reactivate three players suspended at the start of the third conference by coach Dante Silverio. Ramon Fernandez, Abe King and Estoy Estrada reported for their first game but the Tamaraws found themselves without a coach as Dante Silverio resigned earlier in the day as both manager and coach.
Crispa played with only one import as Irvin Chatman was in sick bay. Toyota led by 10 points, 36-26 at the end of the first quarter. The Tamaraws went full steam in the second quarter and posted a 22-point lead at the half. With Andy Fields and Bruce King running rings around the lone Walk Tall Jeans import Bernard Harris, the Tamaraws upped their lead to 27 at the close of the third quarter, 94-67. Early in the fourth, Crispa coach Baby Dalupan went All-Filipino to signify he was throwing in the towel. With still 6:30 to go, Toyota held its biggest lead in the game at 37 points, 107-70.